Electrically-actuated,powder-operated,rail bonding connector



Feb. 17, 1970 w. F. BROSKE 3,495,778

ELECTRICALLY-ACTUATED, POWDER-OPERATED, RAIL BONDING CONNECTOR Filed Jan. 12, 1967 z Sheets-Sheet 1 W. F. BROSKE Feb. 17, 1970 ELECTRIGALLY-ACTUATED, POWDER-OPERATED, RAIL BONDING CONNECTOR Filed Jan. 12, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 17, 1970 w. F. BROSKE ELECTRICALLYACTUATED, POWDER-OPERATED, RAIL BONDING CONNECTOR 3 heecs-Sheet 5 HT 6 a:

Flled Jan 12 1967 Stats 3,495,778 ELECTRICALLY-ACTUATED, POWDER-OPER- ATED, RAIL BONDING CONNECTOR William F. Broske, Camp Hill, Pa., assignor to AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa.

Filed Jan. 12, 1967, Ser. No. 608,781 Int. Cl. E01b 11/54; F42c 11/00; F42b 1/00 U.S. Cl. 238-151 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates to an explosively-operated connector for splicing current-carrying rail members. A pair of rails are abutted and the connector is secured thereto. An explosive is disposed within the connector and ignited electrically by a circuit containing a length of wire that develops ignition heat through electrical resistance. The detonation drives a pair of pistons which, in turn, drive a pair of wedge members contained in the connector, so that each of the wedge members secures one of the rails to the connector.

RELATED APPLICATION Application, entitled Rail Bonding Connector, was filed Nov. 7, 1966, bearing Ser. No. 592,396, in the name of William F. Broske.

BACKGROUND Field of the invention The invention relates to the field of electrical and mechanical connectors.

Description of the prior art The current method of joining rails together consists of bolting them together or welding them together. A fitting is placed over the connector and a nut and bolt tightened to hold the members together. The present invention constitutes a wedge means for securing them together so as to prevent vibration from loosening the connector. Furthermore, the wedges are driven by explosive means for ease of application.

SUMMARY The improvement consists of using a length of pyrophoric material as part of the electrical circuit to cause ignition of the explosive. The pyrophoric material is placed in the circuit adjacent the explosive means. By energizing the circuit, the current ignites the pyrophoric material which, in turn, detonates the explosive. This insures ignition and prevents misfires. It reduces the amount of current necessary to ignite the explosive.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS As shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, a rail member 10, suitable for carrying electricity, has a pair of base flanges 3,495,773 Patented Feb. 17, 1970 12 and 14. An arcuate depression 16 is fitted between the flanges 12 and 14. The rail member is generally I-shaped, and has a cap 18 running along one surface which is contacted by a brushior collar (not shown) which transmits current to a car. i

The device for connecting two rail members 10 is generally shown in FIGURE 1. It comprises a C-shaped outer shell 20 having side portions 22 and 22' and inwardlydirected lips 24 and 24. The inner surface 26 tapers from a thicker outer end to a thinner section in the medial portion. An opening 28 is provided approximately centrally of the ends of the outer shell 20.

A pair of wedge members 30 and 30' fit Within the shell (since they are identical, only one will be described). The bottom surface 32 of the wedge member 30 is tapered to match the taper 26 of the shell 20. The upper surface of the wedge member has a detent 34 which matches the depression 16 in the rail member 10. The inner portion of the wedge member 30 is slotted at 36 to form a pair of legs 38 and 40.

A firing chamber 42 is generally rectangular with a shoulder 44 extending from one side thereof. The upper surface 46 of the firing chamber is arcuate to correspond to the detent 34 on the wedge member 30. A longitudinal bore 48 extends the length of the firing chamber 42. A second bore 50 is disposed at a right angle to the bore 48 and is located centrally of the shoulder 44.

A pair of pistons 51 and 51' are disposed in the bore 48. A pair of plastic gas seals 52 and 52' are also disposed within the bore adjacent the inner ends of the pistons 51 and 51. An explosive charge 54 is located between the gas seals 52 and 52.

An igniting assembly 56 is secured in the firing chamber. The assembly 56 includes a hollow sleeve 58 having external threads. A nut 60 is threaded onto the outside surface. A bolt 62 having a head 64 is at one end and screw threads 66 are at the other end. A plastic insulating shroud 68 extends over the shank of the bolt, and a flange at one end of the shroud- 68 electrically insulates the bolt 62 from the sleeve 58. A nut 70 and lock washer '72 secure the bolt 62 to the assembly 56 (FIGURE 7), and an insulating ring 74 electrically insulates the bolt 62 from the sleeve 58.

A length of pyrophoric material 76 is secured to the head 64 of the bolt 62. As shown in FIGURE 8, it may be peened into a depression in the head 64. A typical example of suitable material comprises a multi-stranded wire comprised of palladium and aluminum [one type of suitable material is sold under the trademark Pyro fuze, by the Pyrofuze Corporation, Mount Vernon, N.Y.]. Any material that will conduct electricity and give off an exothermic reaction and capable of electrical ignition may be used.

The connector is assembled by locking the explosive material 54 within the firing chamber 42 centrally of the opening 48. The gas checks 52 and 52' are placed in either side of the explosive material 54, and the pistons 51 and 51' are inserted into each end of the opening.

The firing chamber 42 is located centrally of the legs 38 and 40 of each of the wedge members. As seen in FIGURES 3 and '5, the assembly 56 is threaded into the shell 20 with the shoufder 44 projecting into the opening 48. The nut 60 is tightened against the shoulder 44 to lock the assembly 56 in the shell 20. The pyrophoric material 76 contacts the surface of the firing chamber. A terminal lead T is secured to the lower end of the bolt 68, and also to a source of power B (FIGURE 5) which is grounded to the outer shell 20.

A length of rail 10 is inserted into each side of the shell 20 until the ends of the rails abut. One lead from a source of current is applied to the bolt 56 with the other lead attached to the shell 20.

When it is desired to secure the rails together, current is fed into the bolt 68. The current is conducted through the pyrophoric material 72 and is grounded by the shell 20. The resistance of the pyrophoric material causes it to burn and give off a very high degree of heat. The heat ignites the powder charge 54, thus causing it to explode. Energy from the explosion drives the pistons 51 and 51 outwardly. Each of the pistons 51 and 51 drives one of the wedges 30 and 30 outwardly. Each of the Wedges secures one of the rails 10 to the shell 20. Ignition of the pyrophoric material breaks the circuit and stops the flow of further current. The extreme pressure and temperature generated by ignition of the pyrophoric material assures ignition of the explosive material at a burning rate suflicient to produce the necessary pressure to accomplish the work.

The operation of the wedges causes a secure connection to be made with a minimum of time, effort and equipment.

Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art and various apparently different modifications and embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only. The actual scope of the invention is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective against the prior art.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for electrically bonding rails including a connector member adapted to be secured to the rails, a wedge member between the connector member and each rail to longitudinally align said rails, means for driving said wedge member, said means comprising an explosive material, an electrical circuit for igniting the explosive material and a exothermic material forming part of the electrical circuit, whereby energizing the electrical circuit ignites the pyrophoric material to detonate the explosive material.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the explosive material is contained in the connector.

3. The device of claim 1 including a piston means longitudinally movable for driving the wedges, and the ignition of the explosive material operates the pistons.

4. A detonating means for detonating an explosive, comprising an electrical circuit, apart of the electrical circuit formed of a material that is exothermic upon energization of the circuit with electrical current, said material in proximity to said explosive whereby energization of the circuit causes the electrical current to ignite the exothermic material thereby detonating the explosive, said detonating means being contained within a rail-bonding connector having operable wedge members to secure the connector to the rail, and the detonation of the explosive by the detonating means providing the energy for driving the wedge members.

5. The means of claim 4 including a piston means between the explosive and the wedge members whereby the energy released by the detonation of the explosive is translated to the wedge members through the piston means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,277,370 9/ 1918 Bovard 29-254 2,227,347 12/ 1940 Johnson. 3,003,235 10/ 1961 Temple et al. 3,257,499 6/1966 Broske 29254 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner R. A. BERTSCH, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R-. 30262; 102-'-1 

